The Moon - Grade 5 Science Curriculum

I've been reading the new BC curriculum and basing some of my holiday daily blog posts on those readings.  For example, the Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick post and the explanation of the tide cycles in relation to the earth and moon's movement and rotations is part of the grade 5 science curriculum.  Today let's explore the moon a little more - our earth is so interesting, n'est pas?!

Here are some more web sites to check out:

• National Geographic Moon Quiz
• Earth Sun & Moon (United Kingdom Resource).  This site is interactive, but you must be able to read to do the activities.
• Phases of the moon
• Phases de la lune
• Video - Phases of the Moon, using Virtual Moon Atlas and accompanied by Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14, (Opus 27, No. 2)
• Video - Phases of the Moon (3:15) from NeoK12

A Deep Thinking Invitation:  

Let's learn for the sake of taking interest in the mystical, magical world around us - rather than for learning outcomes, grades, or because of what we're "supposed to learn."
Our Canadian curriculum is simply, in my mind, a spring board for exploration, but a great starting point for ideas.

Deep thoughts by your Ardent Librarian, AKA Mz. Frizzle, I mean Ms. Murrells-Allaway. À bientôt.

Online Books Such as Tumble Books

The Okanagan Regional Library or ORL for short has a wealth of information and entertainment for you both in person and at your finger tips.  Check out your local holiday schedule for what's happening at your nearest library, but also browse around their website, and ... be amazed!  While your school libraries will enrich your k-12 experience, the public library will be with you for a lifetime.

First off try out their Tumble Books resource both for elementary level and their TumbleBook Cloud version for middle school and up

At Bastion Elementary we recently enjoyed Canadian children's author Robert Munsch read us a couple of stories over the internet; from Tumble Books enjoy not only his voice, but also the pictures which even include some animation.  Plus there are videos, games, and puzzles to enjoy too - all safe, all quality.

 Here is the direct link to 50 Below Zero by Robert Munsch (from the ORL Tumble Book link; I did a search of Robert Munsch - many books available :) )

One of my Robert Munsch Favs.  Click on the picture above to go to the Tumble Book version. Which is your Robert Munsch favourite?  Which books would you recommend to read over the holidays?  Reply post below.

Those awesome neighbours tell me there is an optic tv version for Tumble Books too, but I haven't figured out how to use that - I will soon.

Oh my the internet can be a powerful place!  Check the Learning commons blog right side bar for other options of online books and book title suggestions.

Oh, oh and don't forget about our SD83 subscription to Novelist - yummy (Click into the database called EBSCO & then the Novelist k-8 option; I'll blog more about this in the future.  Do you remember our district user name and password?  Email me if you've forgotten smurrell@sd83.bc.ca.


Enjoy ...  We're off for some tobogganing ...

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick

We were sharing cross Canada trip stories with our neighbours yesterday and I wanted to share an amazing place from the province of New Brunswick that they experienced: Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy.

Nov 12, 2010

The Hopewell Rocks on the shores of the Bay of Fundy are one of the Marine Wonders of the World, and the site of some of the World's Highest Tides.

Sep 11, 2014

Trois de nos plus braves interprètes ont bravé la marée de la baie de Fundy pour démontrer comment vite les marées peuvent monter aux rochers de Hopewell Rocks. Ca n’as pris que 27 minutes, des orteils au mentons, pour Meagan du moins, et il restait encore 20 pieds or 7 mètres d’eaux a entré dans la baie de Fundy. Ce film fut filmé durant l’une des plus hautes marées de la saison, sois de 46 pieds ou 15 mètres.

Sep 11, 2014

Three intrepid interpreters brave the tides of the Bay of Fundy to demonstrate how quickly the tides rise at the Hopewell Rocks, it took 27 minutes, from toe to chin, Meagan’s anyway, and there was another 20 feet or 7meters of water still to come in, this was filmed on site during the highest tide of the season, a 46 feet or 15 meter tide.

How tides work - a student`s explanation:

 May 9, 2013

This was a high school math project so it is does not contain every single detail. It's only purpose was just to show a visual representation to receive a grade in my class.
Math Project II      

De la baie de Fundy, Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada

The Scoop on Poop!

I thought of this much-loved book at the Bastion Elementary Learning Commons, which is also at Parkview Elementary Learning Commons, and I think at the Silver Creek one too, when friends were talking about the weird and wonderful in the news.

Pierre-Yves told us about the poop bus in England:

CBC News Report about the Poop Bus

And then came the Bio-Bug

In 2010 dog waste was used to light park lights: